Speedy Bowyer no sucker bet for first Cup victory

LAS VEGAS -- There's the $11 buffet at Circus Circus, the discounted show tickets, and the 50-cent roulette over at Slots-A-Fun. But this weekend, the best deal in Las Vegas is getting Clint Bowyer at 15-to-1.

Going all-in

Count Clint Bowyer, driver of the No. 07 Chevrolet, as a solid yes vote in the drive to land a second race in Las Vegas. And this despite the fact that he has been and continues to be highly critical of the actual racing surface at Las Vegas Motor Speedway. "I wish he'd just set a date without racing. We could all just come out here and party and have a good time -- without racing," said Bowyer, whose day in Saturday's Busch Series race ended early when he got caught up in a wreck initiated by others. "This city has always been a blast for me to come to my whole life. My parents brought all three of us [Bowyer children] here when we were kids. There are just a lot of memories of a lot of fun we had in this city. A city like this is fun whether you're racing or not.

• Joe Menzer

Those are the sports-book odds of the Richard Childress Racing driver winning Sunday's UAW-DaimlerChrysler 400 at Las Vegas Motor Speedway, which would produce a nice payday for anyone willing to put down a few bills on the No. 07 car. Of course, Bowyer might have had the bookies scrambling to re-evaluate after he posted the fastest speeds in each of Saturday's two Nextel Cup practices.

Bowyer paced the first session with a top speed of 178.969 mph, and followed that in Happy Hour with a 177.719 on the recently refurbished 1.5-mile track. Currently sixth in series points, Bowyer goes after his first Nextel Cup victory in a Chevrolet that finished sixth two weeks ago at California, and has placed outside the top 10 only once in seven starts dating back to last year.

"I think this is as good a shot as any," crew chief Gil Martin said Saturday. "But we've had several good shots, and haven't capitalized on them. But I think as far as momentum is going, as far as the way the team is working together, the way Clint is understanding the races, from that point of view, it is going to be one of our best shots. I look at it as being one of many for this year."

Mark Martin was second and Jeff Burton third in a Happy Hour that capped a calm day of practice at Las Vegas, which devoured cars in Nextel Cup practice and qualifying Friday. In the offseason the track was repaved and had its corner banking increased to 20 degrees, a combination that led to several wrecks in a January test and prompted NASCAR to mandate a harder left-side tire.

As a result, drivers have struggled to find grip on the racing surface, and no one is really sure what to expect from Sunday's race. Will it be as sedate as Saturday's practice sessions, which were accident-free? Or as calamitous as Saturday's Busch race, where cars broke loose with regularity, leading to a record number of caution flags?

"I've talked to a lot of people, and nobody really knows what to expect," said seven-time NASCAR champion and current team owner Richard Petty. "They don't know how the track is going to change, how the cars are going to handle, how the tires are going to work. And there's no favorite. Most times you go to a racetrack, there are two or three that look like they're going to be the ones to beat. It's wide open right now."

Gil Martin believes teams are learning to be more cautious in conditions much different from the ones they encountered in January.

"Everybody knows to be a little bit careful," he said. "I think at the test, there was so much grip, you couldn't find the edge. When you found it, it was too late. Now, everybody knows there is an edge. I think that's what's got everybody a lot more patient right now. We haven't been able to run side-by-side yet, and everybody hasn't been able to run with each other yet.

"But everybody knew coming in there was going to be an edge, whereas in the test, it was just how fast did you want to go? You could go out and run any speed you were brave enough to run."

Despite the rules changes, Bowyer's team is running a setup similar to the one it used for the Las Vegas test, where the second-year Nextel Cup driver posted the second-fastest speed the first day and the seventh-fastest the next. Sunday promises warm temperatures, a slick racetrack and plenty of gambling with a smaller fuel cell. But Bowyer is comfortable with his car, and feels momentum on his side.

"We're getting better and better, you know?" he said. "I'm real excited about this season. I told the guys during the offseason that last year was a learning year, and we learned, and now it's time to get down to business and get our first win."